Latto
Latto during a WHTA radio interview, 2024
Background information
Birth name	Alyssa Michelle Stephens
Also known as	Miss Mulatto Mulatto Big Latto Big Mama
Born	(1998-12-22)December 22, 1998 (age 26) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Southern hip hop[1] trap[1] pop rap[1]
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter
Discography	Latto discography
Years active	2010–present[2]
Labels	RCA Streamcut Pittstop
Website	biglatto.com

Alyssa Michelle Stephens (born December 22, 1998), known professionally asLatto (formerly known asMulatto), is an American rapper and singer fromAtlanta. She first appeared onJermaine Dupri's reality television seriesThe Rap Game in 2016, where she was known asMiss Mulatto and won the show's first season, but rejected its award of a recording contract with Dupri'sSo So Def Recordings.

Latto rose to prominence after releasing her 2019 single "Bitch from da Souf," which receiveddouble platinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and marked her first entry on theBillboard Hot 100. Upon signing withRCA Records, it was issued as the lead single for her debut studio albumQueen of da Souf (2020), which performed moderately on theBillboard 200 and spawned theplatinum-certified single "Muwop" (featuringGucci Mane).

After a name change to Latto, she reached wider mainstream recognition after the release of her 2021 single, "Big Energy." The song peaked at number three on theBillboard Hot 100, received triple platinum certification by the RIAA, and landed at number seven on theYear-End Hot 100 chart; its live performance was nominated forBest Melodic Rap Performance, while Latto herself was nominated forBest New Artist at the65th Annual Grammy Awards. "Big Energy" served as lead single for her second studio album777 (2022), which trailed the song commercially at number 15 on theBillboard 200. Her guest appearance onJung Kook's 2023 single "Seven" became her first song to peak atop both theBillboard Hot 100 andBillboard Global 200, while her single "Put It on da Floor Again" (remixed featuringCardi B) peaked at number 13 on the former chart that same year. The latter served as lead single for her third studio album,Sugar Honey Iced Tea (2024), which matched her previous on theBillboard 200.

Latto has won twoBET Awards, aBET Hip Hop Award, aBillboard Music Award, aMTV Video Music Award, and two Grammy nominations. She was included on the 2020XXL Freshman Class, and was namedMTV's "Global Push Artist of the Month" in 2021. Latto was recognized asVariety's "Breakthrough Artist" of 2022, and at the2022 BET Hip Hop Awards, Latto won Song of the Year for "Big Energy" and was nominated for Album of the Year for777. She also won the BET Awards forBest New Artist in 2021 andBest Female Hip Hop Artist in 2023.

Alyssa Michelle Stephens was born inColumbus, Ohio, on December 22, 1998^[1] to Misti Pitts and Shayne Stephens. She attendedLovejoy High School inHampton, Georgia, south of Atlanta and outside of the metro area. She credits Clayton County as the place which gave her street credibility. Her mother is white and her biological father is African American.^[3] Alyssa was bullied in school for being "light-skinned" which inspired her to later adopt the stage name Miss Mulatto when she began her rapping career, after the "mulatto" racial classification.^[4] At the age of ten, she decided to become a rapper and began writing her own rap songs.^[5][6] Prior to being in music, she was indrag racing.^[7]

In 2016, Alyssa Stephens was a contestant on theLifetime reality seriesThe Rap Game, produced byJermaine Dupri andQueen Latifah. The boot camp-style series followed young aspiring rappers in a competition against one another over a span of eight weeks. Latto, under the stage name "Miss Mulatto" at the time, was the overall winner of the competition. She was offered a recording contract from Dupri withSo So Def Records but ultimately turned down the deal claiming it was not enough money, opting to be an independent artist.^[8]

Stephens' second mixtape,Latto Let 'Em Know, was released in April 2017. The tape featured artists like Molly Brazy, Lil Key, Crucial, andSilentó. The single "Response Diss" is a diss song directed toward Young Lyric, a fellow competitor fromThe Rap Game. The ongoing feud between the two resulted in diss tracks from both parties with insults about drug use, homosexuality, and past experiences from the show.^[9]

In January 2019, Latto released the song "B_ from da Souf". In May 2019, she was invited to perform at the Rolling Loud, an annualhip hop festival, located inMiami.^[10] In June 2019, she released a secondextended play, titledBig Latto, which was preceded by "Bitch from da Souf".^[11] The single became a breakout hit, peaking at number 95 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart and was certifiedgold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States. The song later received a remix, featuring rappersSaweetie andTrina, which was later included on Mulatto's third EP,Hit the Latto, which was released on December 12.^[12]

In March 2020, it was officially announced that Latto had signed withRCA Records.^[13] On April 23, Latto released the promotional single, "No Hook". On May 21, she released the second promotional single, "He Say She Say". In July 2020, she recreated some of rapperGucci Mane's album covers, starting with 2009'sThe State vs. Radric Davis, to which Gucci reacted positively. She then announced the release of her single "Muwop", featuring Gucci Mane, which was released on July 30.^[14] The song samples Gucci's 2007's single, "Freaky Gurl". Latto made acameo appearance in American rapperCardi B's music video for her single "WAP", which was released on August 7, 2020.^[15] On the same day, Latto was featured onNLE Choppa's single "Make Em Say", taken from his debut studio album,Top Shotta. On August 11, she was included inXXL's 2020Freshman Class.^[16][17] On August 12, she announced the release of her debut project through RCA, titledQueen of da Souf and it was released on August 21, 2020. The project was preceded by two singles, which were the remix to "B_ from da Souf" and "Muwop" featuringGucci Mane; as well as the promotional singles "No Hook" and "He Say She Say". The album peaked at number 44 on the USBillboard 200.

On September 4, Latto was featured on the remix of theChloe x Halle song "Do It", alongsideDoja Cat andCity Girls. Also on that day, Latto was featured onG-Eazy's single, "Down". Music videos for the third and fourth singles fromQueen of da Souf, "On God" and "In n Out" featuringCity Girls, were released in September and October 2020, respectively. On September 29, it was announced that she had been nominated for Best New Hip Hop Artist at the2020 BET Hip Hop Awards, where she was a performer.^[18][19] On December 11, Latto released the extended version ofQueen of da Souf, which included five new songs and spawned the single "Sex Lies", featuring American rapperLil Baby.^[20]

In January 2021, it was announced that Latto would be changing her stage name from "Mulatto" after the controversy about the word being deemedcolorist.^[21] In February 2021, it was announced she would beMTV's Global Push Artist of the month.^[22] In March 2021, she became the first female rapper from Atlanta to have a solo record be certified gold and platinum with "B_ from da Souf" (2019) and "Muwop" (2020).^[23][24]

In May 2021, she confirmed in various interviews that she had officially settled on a new stage name after scrutiny for the racially charged nature of her name. On May 18, it was reported that on streaming platforms, Mulatto's name had been changed to simply Latto, a change first reflected on her guest appearance onToosii's albumThank You for Believing, where she was credited as Latto. She released a new single titled "The Biggest" along with the announcement of her new name.^[25] On September 24 of the same year, Latto released the lead single from her then-upcoming second studio album, "Big Energy".^[26] The song became Latto's highest charting song on theBillboard Hot 100 peaking at number three. American singerMariah Carey appeared on the official remix, which was released in March 2022. A followup single, "Soufside", was released on November 5.^[27]

On March 9, 2022, Latto announced that the song "Wheelie" would be released on March 11, and confirmed it would feature fellow Atlanta rapper21 Savage.^[28] All three songs were included on Latto's second studio album,777, which was released on March 25. On July 15, she released the song "P_".^[29] She was featured onChloe Bailey's single "For the Night".^[30] In February 2023, Latto was nominated for Best New Artist at theGrammy Awards.^[31] She released the single "Lottery" on February 17.^[32] In July, she appeared as a featured artist on South Korean singer Jung Kook's debut solo single "Seven".^[33] It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first song to reach the top spot of that chart.^[34] She was included inForbes 30 Under 30 list for 2024 music.^[35] On Oct. 12, 2023, Latto released "Did Somebody Say HipOpera," aRap opera collaboration with singerChristina Aguilera.^[36]

In January 2024, Latto was featured on the remix version ofJennifer Lopez' song "Can't Get Enough", the first single out of Lopez' upcoming albumThis Is Me...Now. On February 5, 2024, Latto announced her single "Sunday Service" via social media. The cover artwork depicts a collage of prominent women rappers printed on acyclorama back.^[37] The eyes of Latto and all the featured rappers are concealed by a black box or horizontal black bar.^[38]

In 2017, Latto opened her own store, Pittstop Clothing inJonesboro south of Atlanta.^[39]

In 2021, Latto founded the Win Some Give Some Foundation to “empower at-risk young women by providing them resources and support to achieve a lifetime of success.”^[40]

In May 2019, Latto was arrested for theft when she was mistaken for another woman. She released a track, "Fuck Rice Street", attesting to her innocence and frustration toward the police.^[41][42]

In July 2024, footage of an officer confronting Latto for running a red light was uploading ontoYouTube via bodycam, which was originally captured on September 28, 2023. The rapper underwent abreathalyzer test as a result and explained that she committed the crime due to concerns about being chased by her fans.^[43]

• Queen of da Souf (2020)
• 777 (2022)
• Sugar Honey Iced Tea (2024)

Headlining

• Big Latto Tour (2019)^[83]
• 777 Tour (2022)^[84]
• Sugar Honey Iced Tea Tour ( 2024)

Supporting

• Lizzo –The Special Tour (2022-2023)^[85]

• Official website

• 1998 births
• Living people
• 21st-century African-American women singers
• 21st-century American women singers
• 21st-century American women rappers
• 21st-century American rappers
• African-American women rappers
• African-American women singer-songwriters
• American women singer-songwriters
• American women hip-hop singers
• American women pop singers
• People from Jonesboro, Georgia
• Pop rappers
• Rappers from Atlanta
• Rappers from Columbus, Ohio
• RCA Records artists
• Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)
• Singer-songwriters from Ohio
• Southern hip-hop musicians
• American trap musicians
• Works by Latto

• CS1 Chinese-language sources (zh)
• CS1 uses Korean-language script (ko)
• CS1 Korean-language sources (ko)
• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from May 2023
• Articles with permanently dead external links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism
• Use American English from January 2023
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Use American English from August 2020
• Use mdy dates from July 2022